Forty-five years ago, in the course of browsing through antiquarian bookstores, I
became fascinated by a number of volumes that depicted torture in various eras
and in far-flung places. Horrified by the similarities to descriptions of Nazi
atrocities, I outlined a book that was to be called A Pictorial History of Torture in
the "Civilized" World, in which I would match current quotations with the
centuries-old engravings. For various reasons, the project stalled and I went on to
other things. But the books and accumulated clippings remained among my
possessions.

In mid-2004, when torture burst into the headlines, I pulled out my old material to
see if it was still relevant. This is one of the first quotes I found, in a book that had
been hibernating on my shelf since 1959 -- George Ryley Scott's The History of
Torture Throughout The Ages:

"War and torture are bedmates. . . . When once a war breaks out, torture
may be recognized as an inevitable concomitant. Even if the governments
concerned ostensibly denounce and prohibit torture, it occurs nevertheless.
There is no way in which bodies of men or individuals can be prevented
from surreptitiously practising torture upon such of their enemies as fall
into their power where licence to kill and maim has been freely given."

The sense of déjà vu was so powerful that I felt it almost my duty to take on the
"new paradigm" of official torture that had made its appearance in the course of
the misguided "wars" on terror.

Who is this "masked" octogenarian, anyway?

I was born in 1918, seventeen days after the Armistice that followed the "war to end all
wars," which all too soon became known as World War I. I was married during
World War II, six months after Pearl Harbor. I had nightmares during the
Holocaust. I anguished over the Vietnam War even though my draft-age sons had
"safe" numbers in the lottery.

At the age of 86, I'm still anguishing over war -- and lynchings, and genocide,
and slavery, and capital punishment, and all the "-isms" and "-phobias" that have
plagued humans since time immemorial. For the individuals experiencing them, I
see all of these as forms of mental or physical torture.

People who know me can't fathom how this mother of four and grandmother of
five can even look at such horrors. But facing, and doing something about, these
ugly realities while living a "normal" personal life, is probably my way of
preserving my sanity.

What qualifies me to do this job?

My entire working life has been involved with books -- as proofreader, editor,
designer, collector, and author. Of particular relevance, in 1995 I compiled,
arranged, annotated, designed, produced, and self-published Ahead of Her
Time: A Sampler of the Life and Thought of Mary Wollstonecraft, excerpts from
the letters and writings of the great pioneer of the feminist movement.

As for Not in MY name! -- it's time to turn the page of this Web-only compilation.
While I don't expect you to "enjoy" it, I hope you will find its contents food for
thought, discussion, and maybe even argument. I welcome your e-mail comments,
addressed to ella@ellamazel.org, with Not in MY name in the subject of the e-mail. If you would like me to
respond, please include your phone number. Thank you.